This invention relates generally to toilets, and more specifically, to valves for filling a toilet tank with water.
A common toilet configuration includes a toilet bowl and a tank providing a reservoir of water for flushing the bowl. Fill valves are typically positioned within the tank and adapted to receive water from an external source to refill the tank following the flushing operation. These fill valves typically include a housing having a water flow passage and an inlet for the water. A valve is disposed in the water flow passage between the water inlet and a downspout which forms a water outlet into the tank. The valve is operated by a float mechanism to provide for a controlled refilling of the tank following the flushing operation.
In the past, pressure regulators have been provided on the inlet side of the valve in order to control the pressure of the water within the water flow passage. Since this passage has typically had a horizontal configuration leading to the valve, the pressure regulator has been oriented to extend horizontally within the passage. This has required an increased size of the housing and further required that the housing extend a significant distance into the tank.
Since the downspout is typically vertically oriented, the water in the past has tended to cascade downwardly with a high degree of velocity and turbulence. This has resulted in the water crashing to the bottom of the tank with a considerable volume of noise. This sound has been particularly annoying, so various attempts have been made to insulate the walls of the tank in order to capture the noise within the tank.
It is always of interest to reduce the volume of noise associated with the flushing of a toilet and the subsequent refilling of the water tank. In the case of a fill valve, this noise is generally attributed to water velocity and turbulence as well as water streams impinging on transverse surfaces. The noise is generally of two types. A first type is transmitted through the air and is commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cair noise.xe2x80x9d A second type of noise is transmitted by vibration through solid objects such as the valve housing and pipes associated with the plumping. This noise is commonly referred to as xe2x80x9cpipe noise.xe2x80x9d In the past, water has been directed through glass bead reservoirs in an attempt to slow the water velocity and abate some of the noise. Dampeners have also been used on pipes and tubes in an attempt to absorb vibration. These attempts have had only a limited affect on the air and pipe noise associated toilet fill valves.
These deficiencies of the prior art are overcome with the present invention, one embodiment of which requires the pressure regulator to be disposed in the outlet portion of the water flow path. Thus positioned, the pressure regulator is disposed on the side of the valve opposite the water inlet. The housing of the valve includes inlet portions which are adapted to be mounted in a generally horizontal orientation, and outlet portions which are adapted to be mounted in a generally vertical orientation. In this embodiment, the pressure regulator extends into the outlet portions of the housing and into the downspout. With this configuration, no pressure regulator need be provided in the horizontal portions of the housing so the width of the valve can be maintained at a minimal dimension. This enables the fill valve of the present invention to be mounted in close proximity to the wall of the toilet tank.
The pressure regulator preferably includes stepped cylinders defining the inside diameter and a spiral structure with a plurality of parallel radial flanges defining the outside diameter. This configuration greatly facilitates manufacture of the pressure regulator by a molding process. The spiral structure is operatively positioned in the vertical portions of the housing. Forcing the water to flow upwardly in the vertical spiral structure enables gravity to facilitate pressure regulation of the water. Extending axially of the spiral portions is a mounting projection which includes a plurality of teeth angled to facilitate insertion into the downspout and inhibit removal from the downspout.
The noise associated with a fill valve is due primarily to the water flow characteristics. Water having a high velocity and a high degree of turbulence generates considerable noise as it passes along a flow path. The pressure regulator associated with the present invention significantly reduces the velocity of the water and various flow directors reduce the turbulence. In addition, the combination of the pressure regulator and the downspout has been provided with several diameter enlargements, each of which produces an energy drop. As a result, a high degree of laminar flow is achieved with a significantly reduced velocity. The resulting noise abatement, even that resulting from water impinging directly on the perpendicular bottom surface of the tank, renders the fill valve of the present invention almost silent in operation.
In one aspect of the invention, a toilet fill valve having a water flow passage includes a housing defining a portion of the passage. A valve is disposed in the passage of the housing and divides the housing into an upstream portion and a downstream portion. A pressure regulator is disposed in the downstream portion of the housing where it provides a pressure drop in the housing on the side of the valve opposite the water inlet. The pressure regulator forms with a downspout an expansion step facilitating laminar flow within the downspout.
In another aspect of the invention, the pressure regulator includes a spiral structure having an axis and being configured to form the water flow passage into the shape of a spiral. A first flange included in the spiral structure is oriented generally in a first radial plane while a second flange included in the spiral structure is oriented generally in a second plane. A ramp included in the spiral structure extends transverse to the axis of the first plane and the second plane. The pressure regulator also includes a mounting projection which extends into the downspout and forms with the downspout an expansion step facilitating laminar flow within the downspout.
In a further aspect of the invention, a toilet includes a tank providing a reservoir for flushing a toilet. A fill valve is disposed to provide a controlled release of water into the tank following flushing of the toilet. The fill valve includes a housing and a valve disposed in a water flow passage of the housing to control release of water into the tank. A downspout extending between the valve and the tank includes portions defining an expansion step which produces substantially laminar flow within the downspout. Tank water in the downspout creates a back pressure which further facilitates the laminar flow of the fill water.
These and other features and advantages of the invention will become more apparent with a discussion of preferred embodiments of the invention and reference to the associated drawings.